Half Life : Beyond the Citadel
by GinAndJuice
Summary: The citadel has been destroyed. The resistance is organized, and determined to take back earth.
1. A new Life : Introduction to the World

Chapter 1 : Introduction.

It's the year 2008, sometime in the month of April. The snow is starting to melt, and the birds are returning. The air is much clearer, and nature has been restored. To think that the Citadel had been destroyed only 6 months ago. Gordon Freemen, and Alyx Vance had taken on the citadel, and won. Gordon disappeared, but Alyx miraculously made it out. If only the rest of my family was around to see this. Pretty soon, we will have combined forces numbering in the hundreds of thousands. I feel very optimistic, and I feel that we can actually stand a fight against the combine.

Six months earlier.

The rebel forces pushed towards the citadel. They were a few kilometers away from the main walls. The decrepit streets, strewn with the bodies of soldiers, and rebels alike, were surprisingly quiet, with gunshots ringing through the air only sparingly. Then it happened. A flash of light, a sonic boom. Windows shattered, people cringed, Combine soldiers screamed in their radios. The very point of the citadel, the metal object that tore the sky in half, had vaporized. The sight was an awesome one, and a huge inferno erupted from the top of the citadel. Then something the rebels never expected happened. The combine soldiers, with their menacing gasmasks, and powerful weapons, retreated. Thousands of soldiers could be seen rushing towards the Citadel. Apparently something had happened, and all of the forces were needed. The rebels were exhausted. Even though morale was high, the commanders made the decision to set up fort , wait, and rest. This decision saved countless lives. An hour later, the citadel disappeared from the skyline in a blast of mammoth proportions. The shockwave was much larger than the first one. It knocked over houses, threw cars down streets, lifted Kiosks and lobbed them into buildings. The blast zone caused immediate death within 1/4 of a kilometer. Within 2 kilometers, there was severe to moderate damage. Everything past that, seemed to go almost unscathed. Why the explosion dissipated so easily, nobody knew. The following period after the explosion of the citadel was jubilation. People cried in the streets, and shouted in praise of the resistance. Parades in the honor of Eli, Alyx, and the now MIA Gordon freeman were held in the streets. The weather after the explosion was insanity. It rained for a month straight, all over the world it seemed. The air, had become fresh again, the water pure. There was a crisp fresh, smell in the air. Rations tasted better, colors became brighter. The animals returned, birds could be seen flying in the sky. Fish were spotted darting through the rivers. Plants could be seen growing everywhere. It seemed as though the earth was given another chance at life.

There were survivors of the blast, an estimated 250,0000 humans, and 6,000 combine soldiers. The soldiers, were squashed with a ferocity never imagined. With the terraformation of the earth put back 10 years, the human race had another chance at survival.. Dr. Eli Vance and Dr. Kleiner set up a local Government for the former city17. The city was named surprisingly, New Terra. Even the native Czechs were pleased with the name. The name symbolized the Human Races triumph over the combine. In the months ahead, life was hard, but happy. The government salvaged combine technology all over the city. The base levels of the combine citadel were still miraculously intact, and the underground storage was also, which ensured food and weapons all over the city. The humans began salvaging parts from the combine citadel. 1,000 Apc's were recovered, 200 striders were recovered, and 170 Gunship were also. Only around 100 Drop ships remained, but weapons, were plentiful. Generator cores numbered in the billion, each generator core could power 10 city blocks for 2 years. Electricity was guaranteed for Hundreds, if not thousands of years to come for New Terra. Immediately, an armed forces was created. The United Earth Forces were established, counting in at 102,000 strong. The UEF had a combined Air Force, Navy, and General transport Division, named the United Forces Transport. All of the combine vehicles were repainted from the combine silver, to a sleek black and light blue motif. The blue matching the color of the Former United Nations security forces. Nothing was left of the human military technology, except a few firearms, and Anti Aircraft weapons, some of which were advanced, even for the combine. In the next 6 months, hundreds of acres inside the city were cleared to create farm land. The combine munitions factories reopened under new names, and for a new purpose, destroying the combine A few vehicle factories remained salvageable near the citadel, and were being repaired for human use. Dr. Vance and Kleiner were both hard at work building new weapons that were effective against the combine. The regional commanders were busy creating the cities main defenses and strengthening the walls. The military lacked what it had in numbers by what it had gained in skill. In fighting the combine, the rebels had learned the combines advanced tactics, and how to counter them. Soldiers had huge amounts of ammunition, as the combine plants could produce around 1,000 rounds per soldier, per day, of any weapon imaginable. Soldiers were all trained marksman, and trained in the skill of preserving ammunition, even though the thought of conserving ammunition seemed trivial.

The combine, having never experienced a revolt like this, were completely caught off guard. Cities 14, and 15, both succumbed to the resistance, with the aid of the vortigaunts. The cities made immediate contact with New Terra, and pledged allegiance to them. The names of City15 and City 14 were both dubbed after their old names. New Warsaw, and New Frankfurt. New Frankfurt is roughly 415 km to the northwest of New Terra, located in the former republic of Germany. New Warsaw is roughly 375 km to the northeast of New terra in the former republic of Poland. According to the geography, the combine placed a citadel every 400-1,000 km, at a city with a surrounding population of around 5 million. They exterminated around 50-75 of the humans they encountered. 10 went to slavery, and the rest to the slums.

The outlook for the humans looked good, with the only neighboring Combine strong points of City 13, and city 18. City 13, located in Paris, France. City 18 is located in the Former country of Ukraine, in Kiev. Kiev is located around 1,000 km from New Terra. In all, the resistance had a lot of space from the nearest attackers.

Three weeks passed before a single recon ship was spotted within 100 km of Either three cities. The first recon ship to reach New Terra arrived around 8 weeks after the citadel fell. It was blasted out of the air by the UEF within seconds of reaching the 7 km limit zone. This is where Filips Story starts.

Chapter 2: A new life


	2. A new Life

Thanks for the advice, and criticism of random people

Chapter 2 : A new life

I opened my eyes. The morning sun spilled through the bedroom windows, and blinded me for a few seconds. My feet touched the cold floor, and I was completely conscious. I felt a little shiver creep up my spine, and realized I had left the radiator off in my small bedroom. I didn't care much for it anyway, at least I had a radiator. Some didn't.

Soon thereafter, the aroma of breakfast from next door hit my nose . I showered, and cooked some eggs. The eggs were fresh off the farm, and tasted very good. After breakfast I stepped on to the balcony, and looked at the amazing view. Diligently pulling a cigarette from the pack, I sparked it, enjoying the flavor. The smoke swirled up into the air, in intricate patterns. I heard footsteps on the floor, and standing behind me was Vojtek.

"Hey, how'd you get in here!?" I yelped.

"You gave me a key, remember Filip? Besides, the door was open. You gotta watch out for those kinds of things." He replied.

"Just a habit I can't give up, from the occupation I guess" was my response to his worries. "You sound kind of like my mom used to"

"Oh and by the way those things will kill you." Sarcasm practically dripping from his mouth. He grabbed one, and lit it up himself.

"Well, what are you worrying about more, your lungs, or getting popped by a soldier?" I explained.

"The combine of course." He retorted.

I looked over the apartments next door, and saw the farms, and saw the green plants. It had been years since I saw something as beautiful as that.

"Hoc, vojtek idziemy." The words rolled of my tongue. We needed to be at base soon.

"Tak. Or should I say, let's go." He opened the door back up, and we stepped out.

Outside, the civilian day was beginning. Small stores were opening, and the smell of fresh bread filled the market square. The street repair crews still had work to do all over the city. The damage was extensive. Just a few minutes later, we arrived at UEF headquarters. Walking through the courtyard, I noticed the automated turrets, and guard towers. I also spotted the huge Anti Aircraft guns coming off the 4 story roof, and the RFPC's coming off the roof. The RFPC's, or Rapid Fire Plasma Cannons, could shoot 100 triple sized plasma rounds per second. They pierced the heaviest combine armor with ease. So essentially, it was like 30 plasma rifles at once. The base was a heavily guarded place, and had the best record out of any main base of the 3 cities. No combine recon ship had reached 15km or closer to it. Or the city itself.

"Commander Kowalski, You've been requested to enter the war room immediately, there is a situation." A guard notified me, while saluting sharply. He stepped back into his post, back to his mounted machine gun.

"Thanks for the news, ill be on my way, radio ahead." I knew something was up. The only time a guard said that you needed to head to the war room immediately was when a relative died in the war, or something big was up. I have no relatives left.

We walked, half jogged to the main security gates. We scanned our ID's and eyes as fast as possible, and were met with the green light, and resounding beep of access being granted. The large combine-designed metal doors opened quickly, almost silently. Vojtek said his goodbyes, and headed off to his squads prep room. I ran to the war room, with a bad feeling in my gut. When I opened the door, I was shocked.

At first glance, the ovular shaped room was packed. The atmosphere was tense, and serious. The war desk was filled to the brim, every seat but mine taken. Five star general Eli Vance, essentially the "Head" of the UEF, and of congress was sitting in the center chair. Four star General Calhoun was there, and Commander of special operations, Alyx Vance was present. It was quite an impressive power filled crowd, along with others I had not recognized.

"Hey Phil, you're a bit late." Chastised Calhoun. I glanced at my watch, 7:58.

"Its 7:58 sir." I said, respectfully as possible. Calhoun and I went way back, he always made his jokes. I took my seat quickly, not trying to attract more attention than I already had. Barney started talking,

"Well, a situation developed overnight, and we weren't able to reach your mobile. As of today, your security clearance has been raised, and your rank upgraded. You are now a rank one Divisional commander. The words and images in this room do not leave this room until April 30th, in any way, shape, or form. This information is top secret for the next two days. Recorders off, now!" Barney ordered, half at me, half at the glass wall behind me. There was a sense of urgency in the older mans voice, one I had never heard before.

The camera in the ceiling retracted, and the LED indicator in the table turned red. Monitors flipped out of the table, and a projector screen lowered behind Barney.

"We have received word, from New Warsaw that the combine is up to something. With the amount of time they have had to prepare, it seems as if they would mount some sort of offensive. Recon ships took these pictures yesterday; they are "close" to Warsaw." Barney said. It appeared as though Eli and Alyx were there just to supervise. Barney knew what he was doing anyways.

Pictures appeared on the screens, and a larger version on the projector. It looked like a small military base, with combine outer walls. Only one floor, and ground only, it did not look very threatening compared to a Citadel. Once I zoomed in, the fear inside me grew. It seemed as though there were rows upon rows of barracks. There were weapons out in the open, and around 100 Apc's scattered about the camp. The camp looked relatively empty of soldiers.

"This is the first forward advance outpost they have built. Warsaw still way out of their max shelling range, but not out of the range of long-range dropships. It could pose a serious threat to Warsaw is the future. There are 38 barracks, each holding 70 soldiers to the max. More are being built, at the rate of one per day. Full, it can hold 5,000. When these pictures were taken, there were only 500 support and guard troops, along with construction teams. Apparently, they do not know we know their there. The combine would not be massing so many resources in one place, without a damn good reason. They're pushing forward, and this isn't a good sign. Tomorrow, at 200 hours, there will be an offensive launched against the combine, before this budding base can grow any larger. The leaders of this attack will be Regional General, David Argullo." Barney was almost done speaking.

A short, Spanish featured man raised his head and looked at Barney, grinning. I knew he was the commander of this op.

"The commanders under him will be listed on the screens now." And with that statement, Barney finished. Not surprisingly, my name appeared on the list, along with four others. We were to get four squads briefed and prepped within 1800 hours. The transports would be shipping off at 2200. I picked Vojtek's squad, and Radeks, plus two of my best performing American squad leaders, and in all I was ready. I drafted up some battle plans, and had them revised by Barney. They were sent out to the squads at 11:30. I was ready for a break. I called Vojtek, and asked him if he wanted to hit the city for lunch instead of the mess hall. I decided to tell him the details over lunch.

Stepping out of the compounds security doors, I looked skyward. I saw three of our interceptor gunships streak across the sky, sleek, black, and looking like they almost absorbed the light around them. The guard saluted as I left, and I headed out to the square.

I spotted Vojtek within a few seconds, being one of the few in military dress outside in the city. The hour was 12 by now, and the lunch crowd was out, hitting up the Cafes and restaurants.

"Czesc, jak sie masz?" I asked.

"Dobrze" he uttered. I could sense the uneasiness in his voice. So I switched to English, and hoped to call him down.

"What's up? You seem a little anxious." I inquired.

"It's about the briefing, and the things that weren't supposed to leave the room. Don't you think it is just a little troubling? I mean you don't seem worried at all." Vojtek had obviously been thinking about this. We started to walk through the crowded market, and down the street towards the main district.

"Well, considering it has taken thing long, I'm actually happy. If this had happened earlier, I would have been worried. It's been seven months now, nearing eight. If it's taken this long, they are obviously having problems. Without the citadel here, they are obviously not able to teleport goods and people nearly as quickly, and with the capture of the other two, we dealt a major blow. Dr. Vance said without this citadel, their teleportation rate was cut back severely. Their advance is slow, and weak." Apparently, this explanation was good enough, as the look of anxiousness slipped off his face. We walked, and sucked down a few cigarettes before we went to eat. As we passed a deli, their sign in the window caught my eye. Although the façade of the building was marred with some old burn marks, it had sidewalk seating, and looked ¾ full. It seemed like a good place, so we stopped in.

"What can we do for you guys? Anything new happening on the front, or in the world outside our city?" The chef asked, he was clearly a friendly guy.

"Well both take The Cesar Chicken sandwiches, and ice water. Ill pay. For now, we just want to eat." Vojtek's expression changed to one of surprise. I never paid for anyone else's anything, unless there was an occasion. We sat down.

"What's the occasion?" He asked.

"Well, I've been upgraded to rank one divisional commander. I just got a huge bonus today. Also, f you haven't noticed you've gotten a pay upgrade too. Extra 8,000 per year, and you get hazards pay for this mission. It seems this is an important victory, they really want us to win it." I could see his smile. It was obvious his squads recent dramatic jump in performance ratings had paid off for us both. "So don't screw up" I joked.

"I assure you, we won't." He answered coolly. As we were chowing down, the friendly chef walked towards our table.

"Well guys, the food good?"

"Yeah, hit the spot." I answered. Vojtek said something similar. The chef sat down, and said the totally unexpected.

"Look guys, I heard there were some rumors that the combine had made a few advances. I hear something big is going to be happening tonight, or tomorrow. Their just rumors of course, but I'm just concerned. I wont tell anyone I promise." he whispered quickly, secretively.

"I'm not at liberty to say any details, but ill tell you something. This city, and the other two are both very safe right now. We got a lot of new armor and weapons in last month, and they will really pack a punch against the Combine" I reassured him.

"Wait, did you guys get any new front guns on your uhh, what do you call them, Apc's?" He asked. Surprisingly, we had. We just got the new model of RFPC mobile versions. They had a little less firepower than the ground mounted ones all over the city, but had automatic target detection, and assisted aim.

"Hey, how do you know about that? Not many people outside the base have even seen 'em !" I said, astonished. He responded,

"Well, my brother designs them. He's a head Designer in Dr. Kleiners department. He said that you guys would have no problem mowing down the combine with that gun." He said.

"No, we wont. I've shot it, it's a very capable weapon." We scarfed down the sandwiches, and I made a mental note to return to that deli/café in the future. I got the chefs name, Frank, and said goodbye.

We headed toward the base, and continued the rest of the day training and preparing. We ran a few miles, shot off at some targets, and went over the op's battle plans. The operation was now nicknamed "Sword and Shield". We checked up the equipment and loaded the Apc's, and dropships. At 6:00, we left the base to get some rest. We went our separate ways, and each went to our separate flats, only one floor apart. I showered, and ate some more. I watched the news, stocked up on a few more calories.

I knew that the night would be a long one. I hit my bed like a sack of potatoes, and set an alarm for 2 hours later. My dreams were saturated with visions of shooting combine.

Chapter 3 : Midnight Assault


End file.
